Where do you buy most of your skincare products and makeup products? Share!
I purchase regularly from Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Sephora, though I buy from brands directly as well as through other large retailers like Ulta depending on what it is!
Thanks to Genevieve for today’s questions! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Paula’s Choice for skincare, sephora for makeup. Sometimes ulta or directly from the company, but rarely.
For makeup, almost always MAC, Sephora, and Ulta. Facial, neck and eye area skincare, it’s basically Ulta and Sephora. And for body skincare products and whatnot, usually Walmart or CVS. If I order makeup online, then ColourPop or MAC.
Neiman Marcus
Mostly Sephora, then Ulta, Walgreens, CVS. But also from Saks and Nordstroms. Generally, wherever I can get the best deal through sales/promos, cash back, insider points, free samples etc. I usually avoid sites where you can’t return things in store.
And Paula’s Choice for most of my skincare. She’s the best!
Ulta and Target mostly.
I buy most from Whole Foods, Sprouts, & Trader Joe’s. I’ve been doing the whole “natural” thing for about 3 years, and my skin has never looked better! Another bonus-I spend less than $100/year. I used to do the fancy, “luxury” routine, but never saw much of a difference… I do sometimes integrate “actual” skincare items into my routine, but it’s mostly food-grade oils & non-chemical products, and I’m still very careful when it comes to ingredients in more “commercial” products, which I buy from the drugstore/supermarket.
Oh, and for makeup, generally a local drugstore or ULTA, and higher-end is typically Sephora, as I love Kat von D, and it’s the only convenient retailer for NARS. For brands like Urban Decay, either Sephora or ULTA, whichever one I’m in that has what I want in-stock.
Sephora! But since I’ve reached VIB Rouge status, I want to get better deals, so there’s always their direct skincare websites. Makeup, it’s Sephora because of the return policy. Can’t wait for the winter sale!
Ulta probably, though I spend nearly as much at Sephora. A lot of my lower end stuff comes from Target.
• MAKEUP: eBay and makeup blog sale sites
• SKINCARE: eBay, Walgreens, and CVS
My favorite skincare brand is Paula’s Choice for most things, so I have to shop that website. I have a few drugstore brands that I like for the rest (cleanser, remover wipes, blotting tissues). And for makeup, I’ve usually decided on exactly what I want by the time I start shopping. So, I’ll shop around various sites for the best deal on what I’m after (unless it’s exclusive to one source, of course). The drugstore.com/beauty.com site has been great in both areas lately, so it has been getting a lot of my money as a one-stop shop.
Skincare is mostly from the drug store or grocery store, occasionally from Sephora.
Makeup is from Sephora, MAC, or blog sales.
Nordstrom, Macy’s and Dermstore are the 3 retailers I purchase the most from.
Sephora, MAC free-standing store and The Bay (which was the only MAC retail outlet in my city til last year and I still feel a strong sense of loyalty to them – if it’s available at The Bay’s MAC counter, I will buy it there!). If there was a Holt Renfrew here, I would be in SERIOUS trouble!
Oh gosh – how could I omit Shoppers Drug Mart – for Stila, Lise Watier, Bourjois, as well as Smashbox, Benefit, Guerlain, etc. with the wonderful Optimum points thrown in for good measure!
Neiman’s, Nordstrom, Sephora, Hudson’s Bay Co. and direct
Some at the pharmacy but most are from Paula’s Choice. Looking to branch out into more locally available brands where possible though.
Oops, that was skincare. I buy a lot of my makeup online for practical reasons but I also try to buy as much as possible locally or if I’m visiting bigger towns with actual walk-in stores — the one thing I miss about living south are free-standing Make Up Stores!
Online I really like Escentual, Beauty Bay and eBay. As for shops, I love Boots, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Debenhams. I go to Superdrug and Space NK on the odd occasion but that’s pretty rare. 🙂
CVS/Walgreens, Paula’s Choice for skincare (she’s SO helped me with my rosacea). Ulta, Sephora, MAC and SpaceNK for makeup.
My skincare comes from Paula’s Choice, and my beauty comes from Sephora and Walmart. Also, since I’m Canadian, I get stuff from Shoppers Drugmart and Hudson’s Bay. 🙂
I usually buy online now, I like to read the reviews and it’s convenient to have them delivered, especially as I have a one-year-old who whinges when she comes with me shopping! She’d much rather be crawling on the ground! I buy from Feelunique.com, Escentual, lookfantastic.com and Hqhair. If I do go shopping for beauty products it’s when I need things from the drugstore anyway so I go to Boots and Superdrug (I’m in the UK, if you hadn’t guessed already!).
LOL, I can relate! Wait until she’s 2, not only will she whine, but run around the store, and start yanking stuff off the shelf to dump into the cart. I’m always afraid she’s going to break something hideously expensive, and I have to end up buying it. Thank goodness for online shopping!
Neiman Marcus, Sephora or direct from the supplier.
I’m not super extensive with my skincare routine, but the facial oil and eye “cream” (a whipped squalane oil), whipped cocoa butter, and my shampoo bars I get from Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve. They’re awesome and a really good price for how much product they put in the package.
I buy makeup from Sephora, Ulta, various drug stores, or I order from indie brands’ websites. A lot of polishes I have, I got off Amazon.
ulta or sephora for most things, or online if it’s a smaller indie brand.
Ulta and MAC.
Skincare: Paula’s Choice (European website)
Makeup: I live in Europe (The Netherlands) and all standard brands, like YSL, Chanel, Dior, and since a month, thankfully also Urban Decay, I can buy or order from one of two big cosmetics stores. For brands like NARS, Too Faced, Bareminerals, Charlotte Tilbury, Tom Ford, Bite Beauty, Marc Jacobs, Laura Mercier, Kevyn Aucoin etc I have to order either from the American Sephora site or from Beautylish (Wayne Goss, IT Cosmetics), or from UK websites like Selfridges, Space NK, Beautybay, Harvey Nichols etc. Only once did I end up with damaged makeup (the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette from Sephora), but otherwise it’s quite nice to order abroad and exciting to receive packages with makeup that you can’t buy in my country! 😉 Now if only ColourPop would ship outside the US…
Skincare, mostly Paula’s Choice. Quantity-wise, the majority of my makeup comes from smaller or indie companies online (Aromaleigh, ColourPop, Silk Naturals, etc.); dollar-wise, the majority of my makeup is about evenly split between Ulta and Sephora.
Makeup: Kicks, Sephora and Åhléns. Kicks is like the swedish equivalent to Ulta, and Åhléns is a department store.
Skincare: Pharmacies (Apotek Hjärtat to be exact..) and The Body Shop.
I’m so jealous tbh, the Swedish Kicks is so much better than Finnish (but I love both so….)
Makeup – Sephora. Skin care – Target.
I buy direct from a handful of brands, but not as often.
Makeup: Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus, Sephora – online and in store.
Skincare: Amazon, credobeauty.com, glotherapeutics.com
If possible, I buy from Sephora, or directly from MAC and ColourPop. For drugstore items, I usualy check out Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Target since they have much better prices than Ulta. I really just try to avoid Ulta, especially ordering online. But the bulk of my purchases are from Sephora or MAC.
In the US, I buy at department stores like the Boston Store if there is a 15-20% off or if I have a discounted gift card purchased on eBay. I sometimes will buy online directly from the brand. For skincare products that I use regulary, I often buy at the Cosmetics Company Outlet store. I’ll buy online or instore at Sephora. I enjoy buying on Beautylish as they have a broad range. In Canada, I purchase from The Bay and Shoppers Drug Mart if there is an incentive, and at Sephora.
Makeup: mostly Sephora, but also Nordstrom, Ulta, CVS, and Target.
Skincare: Target and CVS, sometimes Ulta.
Skincare from my beauty salon. Makeup mostly from Sephora/Sephora.com, Ulta/Ulta.com, e.l.f. website, other manufacturer’s websites (Urban Decay, MAC, Too Faced, Tarte, etc.), Walgreen’s.
I buy a fair amount of cosmetics from indie websites as well.
Boots, Superdrug, indy pharmacies, Department Stores like Selfridges, Debenhams, John Lewis, House of Fraser, supermarkets like Aldi, even Tesco and online….including ebay.
Sephora and Ulta
Oh, and my subscription boxes. LOL
Skincare —
Clinique from Macy’s, Laneige from Target.
Makeup —
Nordstrom, Macy’s, MAC store, Laura Geller website, Sephora, drugstore.
I almost always purchase directly from the company that makes the product….probably 99%.
Paula’s Choice for skincare; Ulta, Sephora and Nordstrom for makeup.
I buy my specialty products from IdealCeuticals – they have the hands-down BEST prices on Replenix, Topix, Citrix, Skin Medica, Obagi. They have a very edited number of brands, but if anyone here likes those particular ones, check it out, because I’ve never seen better prices anywhere else. For cosmetics, I like Ulta, MAC stores and Macy’s.
QVC, HSN, Sephora, Ulta., Walgreens CVS, I usuLly always shop online because our closest mall is about an hour away but it’s really nice in the winter to be able to stay in when it’s super cold.
As I live in Australia, I tend to buy my skincare items from either Priceline (a dedicated “drugstore” to skincare and beauty products in your drugstore range of cosmetics) or Chemist Warehouse. They have the best deals.
For cosmetics in the drugstore range I go to the above. For high end products, depending on the brand, I am forced to use ebay. Buying HE brands from department stores is just way too expensive and only one shop now stocks UD, Stila, bareMinerals – Mecca Cosmetics Maxima. So no competition for prices.
Most of my makeup and skincare is from Ulta ans Sephora. I found myself recently going to Nordstrom for items.
Facial skincare is pretty much all from Paula’s Choice. Makeup is mainly from Ulta and Wal-Mary with occasional purchases from Sephora and Target on brands not carried by Ulta or for Sonia Kashuk at Target.
Target, Walmart, grocery store i’ve recently got into cruelty free and vegan makeup and skincare products. I am “in transition”
Skincare: La Roche-Posay, Lush, The Body Shop, Kiehl’s, and/or Origins depending on the item and the skin issues I’m having.
Makeup: Mostly Sephora, Nordstrom, & brand websites or stores (like ColourPop, Charlotte Tilbury, etc), occasionally Ulta and probably a few other places over the years.
Mary Kay! I’m sorry to everyone else, but their skincare system is the ONLY one I’ve used and I can wipe my face after and nothing comes off. It cleans everything! I’m in my early 20s… Just want to throw that out there to show MK is not an “old lady” brand. I don’t like their makeup because it’s not my type, just too transparent and I like very opaque vivid makeup. However, I can’t find a skincare system that beats MK.
Didn’t realize it said both! 90% of my makeup that I OWN is from MAC but 98% of the makeup I WEAR is from MAC. in other words, I have makeup from other companies, but I really never wear it. Most of them are samples or gifts.
Today I purchased new skin care from Deciem: Hylamide SubQ serum and Hylamide Glow Booster. I am really looking forward to trying these products! My go-to products are purchased from the Skincare Market: Skinceuticals C E Ferulic and Jan Marini Age Intervention Peptide Extreme. I use prescription strength retin A every other night, followed by peptide extreme. On opposite nights I use Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair, bought at the Estée Lauder counter. My moisturizer of choice has been Dr Dennis Gross Age Erase Moisture with Mega 10, which I used to buy at Sephora, but I think this product may be discontinued.
For makeup, Nordstrom, Sephora, Neimans, and if for specific brands, Ulta and occasionally Beautylish. I’ve also brought a few in brand store, such as MAC. It’s rare, but I’ve also gotten a few hard to find items on eBay at times. For skincare, I use more natural products and DIY concoctions, so I’ve brought things I use at whole foods or certain oils at Trader Joes.
Most of my purchases have been from Sephora (that’s not going to be the case in the future) but I purchase things from many retailers and online.
I primarily buy online from Sephora but do go to the actual store occasionally for color matches. I live about 5 miles from a Sephora store. I’ve been color matches the but never at MAC although they are near one another. Is there a cross reference? I also order occasionally from NOrdstrom, Haute Look, and My Habit. Live less than a mile from ultra but they don’t carry my favorite brands except UD and IT Cosmetics. It depends on the special they are running. I like to but IT Cosmetics from QVC bc they discount heavily and include wonderful brushes at no charge. I’m a big internet shopper bc of motor handicaps but do go to stores occasionally.
Oh, I boycott Wal-Mart and will never shop there. It’s a human rights issue.
Easy. 80% of my makeup is MAC, I buy it at a MAC store in a shopping mall. Most of my skincare is from The Body Shop, again a store in a shopping mall. The rest of my makeup/skincare I buy from chain stores, we don’t have Sephora (saaad!), but they are similar.
Also, planning to switch to Korean skincare, so it will be a small internet shop, but it has a tiny show room in our city.
When visiting Canada, I’ll hit up Shoppers Drug Mart and Sephora, and maybe Caryl Baker Visage if I’m near one.
In the UK, I use a really wide range of e-tailers, particularly for makeup, but I do have favourites, and some bricks-and-mortar shops, too.
Skincare:
Online – Escentual, Cult Beauty, Clarins (much better GWPs than on counters)
Shop – Boots (drugstore)
Makeup:
Online – Escentual, Beauty Bay, Feel Unique (also hair care)
Shop – Boots, Superdrug, Debenhams (dept. store), John Lewis (dept. store), Marks & Spencer (dept. store)
If I haaad to restrict it down, my top three would be Boots, Debenhams, and Escentual, for all beauty products.
Most of my items from the drugstore/Ulta, but some of them are from Sephora, MAC, etc.
For skincare, I order from acne.org and for make-up, I typically shop Sephora and Ulta.
Mostly from Dillard’s, Sephora, and Ulta. If it’s on sale at the grocery store or Walgreen’s that works also.
Mostly Kohls (because I work there) and Ulta
I don’t have a go to skin care regimen or line, ( I probably should though.) I use random drugstore products but I recently realized that MAC is so where its at when it comes to makeup. If you have a good counter with knowledgeable MUAs you’ll never wanna go anywhere else.